Knowsley suffered one of its deadliest weeks of the pandemic so far this week as local hospitals continued to struggle despite falling infections.
The borough remains the hardest-hit in the country and Covid-19 cases have only just fallen back below the level seen at the height of the second wave in October after peaking at almost 1,500 infections per 100,000 people.
But while cases have fallen by nearly 50% in the last two weeks, deaths have risen by 75% in the same period.
In the seven days up to January 25, when the country as a whole passed 100,000 Covid-19 deaths, Knowsley recorded 25 deaths from the virus - the borough’s highest weekly total since April.
The borough’s rising death toll reflects the continuing pressure on local hospitals.
At Whiston Hospital, more than a third of patients have Covid-19 and more people are on ventilators than at any previous point in the pandemic.
However, there is some hope that the borough could be passing the worst part of the crisis, with hospital admissions for Covid-19 beginning to fall this week.
That would be in line with the declining infection rate, which reached 684 cases per 100,000 people on January 26. While this is still extremely high, it has fallen by 29% since the previous week and looks set to continue decreasing.
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Despite this fall, there are still concerns about the spread of the virus in Knowsley.
Dr Sarah McNulty, the borough’s director of public health, has previously highlighted the large number of Knowsley residents who are unable to work from home as a key factor in the borough’s high infection rates.
That message has been underlined by outbreaks in workplaces such as the Jaguar Land Rover factory in Halewood, which is said to be “at a standstill” after a large number of workers tested positive for the virus.
Local public health officials will be concerned that continued outbreaks in workplaces like the Halewood factory, where staff cannot work from home, will put a limit on how far infections can fall.
Cllr Sean Donnelly, council cabinet member for health and social care, warned residents that cases were still “dangerously high”.
He said: “We understand that people are desperate to know when lockdown will be eased and there is already lots of media speculation about this. The reality is that currently our rates are still dangerously high and it is just too early for us to be thinking about any relaxation of rules.
“We need our residents to understand the seriousness of the situation, the likelihood of them catching the virus and why it is still so important to follow the rules.
“Our figures are starting to fall – but slowly. We all need to keep focused, stay at home as much as possible and encourage all your loved ones to do the same.”
This week also saw a plea from another senior Knowsley councillor, Jayne Aston, who called on the government to provide more support for people who have to self-isolate.
Cllr Aston revealed that 63% of people applying for the government’s £500 Test and Trace Support Payment, meant to help low-waged people who can’t work from home, were having their applications rejected.
She warned that this would force people to choose between self-isolating and putting food on the table, with potentially serious consequences for the spread of the disease in the borough.
